


Do But Keep the Peace

by volta_arovet



Category: Romeo And Juliet - Shakespeare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-12-21
Updated: 2005-12-21
Packaged: 2018-01-25 03:30:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1629167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/volta_arovet/pseuds/volta_arovet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The best intents lead to the most tragic conclusions, and through it all Benvolio has but one excuse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Do But Keep the Peace

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Alchemine

 

 

SCENE I  
grove west of Verona  
[Enter WITCHES]

1 WITCH  
Sisters, we do meet again  
Though not in moonlight, nor in rain  
Nor do we meet on foggy heath  
Where bloody kings form plots of death  
Nor do we meet on tangled moor  
Where restless spirits rouse to soar  
And screech "Away, away wi' ye!  
"Away, away wi' ye!"  
But 'stead we meet in sylvan wood  
In fair Verona, sweet and good  
With light of gold and leaves of green  
And charming spirits yet unseen  
And dewdropped flowers scattered round  
As though a nymph had brushed the ground.  
I like it not.

2 WITCH  
Attend thee, sister, to the town  
Where blood-soaked cobbles line the ground  
And ancient fight and ancient feud  
'tween Capulet and Montague  
Whose petty wrath and hatred there  
Will please thy breath with tainted air.

3 WITCH  
Let not waste opportunity  
To witness perfect tragedy.  
Sisters, we must now decide  
On where our futures shall reside.

1 WITCH  
Shall we curse these demon spore  
To persist fighting evermore?

2 WITCH  
Nay, merrily do these fools bleed;  
If we do naught, we still succeed.

1 WITCH  
Then shall we let consume their rage  
Til none but ghosts left on the stage?

2 WITCH  
Sister, we have done this plain  
In time and time and time again.  
A shame to waste a pretty set  
With Montague and Capulet.

3 WITCH  
I have aught to bewitch your mind:  
A vision of a plan so kind  
As witches' plans may never be,  
So do attend here close to me.  
Doing harm is our delight;  
By doing harm, may we set right  
This feud that stains this town close by?  
I know not, so I now must try.

2 WITCH  
By hurting, help? By helping, harm?  
This prospect has a certain charm.

1 WITCH  
I do believe this is not wise,  
This far unnatural enterprise,  
Yet thou hast roused my interest, too.  
Sister, what will you have us do?

2 WITCH  
Hush ye, a Montague comes thence  
Perhaps this boy shall be our chance.

[Enter Romeo]

3 WITCH  
Nay, this boy's head to me doth prove  
Cluttered with thoughts of selfish love

[Exeunt Romeo]

1 WITCH  
Here comes one Montague more  
Perhaps his thoughts shall be less pure.

[Enter Benvolio]

BENVOLIO  
Romeo! Hie, Romeo, come near!  
You do me great discourtesy to fly  
When all I wish is you to break your fast  
So I might break those storm clouds o'er your head;  
Instead, you give me storm clouds of mine own!  
Leave thee to thy black humour, my daft coz,  
For you now try to leave me here with mine!  
What ho? And what three creatures have we here?  
God ye good morning, my fair sisters three.  
Care thee now to break thy fast with me?

1 WITCH  
He calls us fair! Might he be blind?

2 WITCH  
Or lacking sense?

3 WITCH  
Or so unkind?

BENVOLIO  
Nay, little sisters, to my eye thou art  
Most fair as anyone about this morn  
When I compare thee to the one I chased:  
My cousin Romeo, who did upon my wave  
Contrive my greeting not to see and flee  
To nurse his great distemper in the woods.  
Enough on him; what say ye to my bread?

2 WITCH  
He compliments us by left hand  
Sinister words made to sound grand.

BENVOLIO  
Come share with me my simple fare this morn  
Of crisp baked bread, and clotted cream so fresh  
You'll hear the cow low as it meets your tongue,  
And honeyed biscuits, and here is the prize  
Found nestled under cool green leaves were there  
The last of spring's great harvest: berries nine.

3 WITCH  
A goodly number

BENVOLIO  
Aye, but hard to split.  
So two and two and two and two and one,  
I know not what to do with this last sweet.

3 WITCH  
Give it here and it shall pass  
To Hecate our dark mistress  
Who, pleased with this last blood of spring,  
Permit us grant a boon to thee.

BENVOLIO  
When I was but a boy my mother warned  
Me to extend the greatest courtesy  
To any women grouped in knots of three.  
Are thee the witches she spoke of to me?

1 WITCH  
She spoke of truth, the stories old  
We are the witches you were told.

BENVOLIO  
My mother told me to be kind, in truth,  
But not to trifle with their spells for fear  
That dark unforeseen consequence befall.

2 WITCH  
With honeyed words and sweetened food we're charmed.  
We promise you shall come to no small harm.

BENVOLIO  
I fear imagination does run dry.  
What sort of wish will you deign grant for I?

1 WITCH  
Of love?

BENVOLIO  
Nay, love is common on these streets  
And pretty maids are easy to replace.

2 WITCH  
Vengeance?

BENVOLIO  
Nay, enemies I've earned with this right arm  
Are fast dispensed with same and pointed blade  
And enemies who hate me for my name  
Will multiply for every one cut down.

3 WITCH  
Then peace?

BENVOLIO  
Why, little sister, I thought you would try  
To tempt with gold or fame or other things  
I hold in great commodity, but no,  
You offer me the one thing my life lacks.  
Yes. Peace, fair sisters, that is what I wish  
Between the Montagues and Capulets at last.  
That Tybalt, that foul devil's cat, shall choose  
To sharp his claws in someone else's back.  
That two houses be joined in love, not hate,  
And that my hands need not spill blood again.  
This is my wish, to fulfill as you will.

3 WITCH  
A simple thing to grant, my lad  
For this bright ending to be had  
All this shall be yours in days when  
Yon Romeo doth love again.

BENVOLIO  
A simple thing to grant, indeed, I say!  
If Romeo's affections would bring peace  
Then Montague and Capulet's embrace  
Would happen every fortnight at the least.

3 WITCH  
Mind ye of my words and take care  
Not to stray from my path one hair.  
This vial of potion so suspect,  
Yet no apothecary detect  
An ounce of substance to do wrong  
But will produce emotions strong  
When half is drunk by Romeo  
And half shall go to maiden so  
Angelic you will know by sight  
The moment you spy her this night.  
This task and one more trifling chore  
Shall earn you peace forevermore.

[Witches vanish]

BENVOLIO  
Like whispers on the wind these crones did fly  
And not one blade of grass is bent to mark  
The ground on which I swear these three did stand.  
I would not believe we four did meet  
If not for this glass vial in my hand  
And echoes in my mind of words like "peace."  
Do I dare trust my cousin to this vial  
Whose contents she did swear to me are safe?  
It's said a witch, though crafty, will not lie.  
Dare I not trust this witch's plan of peace?  
Yes, that is question fairer in my mind.  
This opportunity too sweet to pass  
I'll see it through, and trust God to my fate.

[Exeunt]

 

SCENE II  
in Capulet's house  
[Enter Romeo, Benvolio, Mercutio, Capulet, and Guests]

ROMEO  
But he that hath the steerage of my course  
Direct my sail! On, lusty gentlemen!

BENVOLIO  
Strike, drum.

MERCUTIO  
Look round you, Romeo, and do be glad!  
With wine and dance and women to be had!  
If thou will not soon cast off thy sad curse  
I'll have them all and leave to thee the nurse!  
[Mercutio leaves]

BENVOLIO  
I will part ways too, coz, and look round  
There is angelic beauty to be found.

ROMEO  
You keep your angels; there are none for me  
If fair Rosaline's face I do not see.  
[Romeo leaves]

BENVOLIO  
The hunt is middling here at best, I say,  
And though the floor is graced with slippered feet  
I swear not one pair does disdain the earth.  
Perhaps the witch has sent me here to stray.  
Perhaps my quest begins and ends today.

[Enter Juliet]

BENVOLIO  
No sooner does my hasty tongue voice doubts  
Than I am swiftly made a faithless liar,  
For now I see a maid with paper mask  
And paper wings to flutter in the wind  
And grace enough to make the meaning clear:  
A costumed angel. There can be no fault.  
The witch did lead me straight with her guidelines.  
[to Juliet] O pretty angel, hear a sinner's words  
And fall to earth to grant me one request.

JULIET  
O young sir, tell me, why should I not fly?  
A confessed sinner's boon may be too dear  
And costly for one such as I to grant.

BENVOLIO  
See you not my robe of colored squares?  
A simple Fool and kindly Jester I  
Whose sins were never made from ill intent  
But stumbled on because of lack of wit.

JULIET  
If you prove not a devil in disguise  
Then tell me, Fool, what will you ask of me?

BENVOLIO  
I will not ask you for your rosy lips,  
But wish for them to grace this cup of wine.  
Your hand, I know, will go to finer man,  
So I ask but the loan of fingertips  
Across my palm for length of one brief song.  
Your heart shall remain safely in your breast  
And virtue, untouched, nestled in your soul.

JULIET  
You charm me with your talk of taxidermy.  
Am I to trust in such a curious hunter?

BENVOLIO  
I swear the lady shall remain unmounted.  
What say you to my poorly phrased request?

JULIET  
Although I can not seem to fathom why,  
For one drink and one song I shall be thine.

CAPULET  
Come, musicians, play!  
A hall, a hall! give room! and foot it, girls.

[Music plays, and they dance]

[Enter Tybalt]

BENVOLIO  
Permit me move our dance some metres hence  
I recognize that foul barber too well.

JULIET  
What barber do you mean? I see not one.

BENVOLIO  
A poor barber who did, this very morn,  
With foppish glee declare my hair too long  
And waved his razor bout so wildly that  
Our very Prince appeared to beg him stop.

JULIET  
Would this poor barber go by the name Tybalt  
And, by this context, you by Montague?

BENVOLIO  
Alas, and now the lady sees me plain.  
I beg thee dearly do not call me out  
For I have come here merely to make merry  
And if a Capulet doth see me here  
I fear that they instead will make me holy.

JULIET  
Then fear, o Fool, for I am Capulet  
Whose father is the master of this house.  
Then quell your fears, for I now rightly choose  
To drop your name from shelves of memory.

BENVOLIO  
A thousand thanks, and now one glass of wine  
To bring our nightly contract to an end.  
A drink to both our houses, yours and mine  
And that one day we might address as friends.

[they drink]  
[Juliet leaves]

BENVOLIO  
A partnership of Montague and Capulet?  
Two houses joined as one in joyful marriage?  
How strange! A witch's plan is so transparent?  
So simple and uncluttered by misdeeds?  
If this is so, then let my path be clear  
For Capulet has taken half the potion  
Then Romeo shall now consume the rest  
And I await the future without fear.

[Romeo enters]

BENVOLIO  
My cheery coz, how look the pretty fare?

ROMEO  
I have not seen the pretty nor the fair  
And "pretty fair" exaggerates my mood.

BENVOLIO  
Come, drink up, coz, for wine is known to loose  
The tongue so that one only speaks of truth.  
Let's see if it brings truth to eyes as well.

ROMEO  
It's said that wine does hide truth from the eyes  
And in the night turns crows into white swans  
But very well, I shall indulge your plea.

[they drink]

BENVOLIO  
Again now, cast your eye across the stage.  
What angel here brings you earthly delights?

ROMEO  
[To a Servingman]  
What lady's that, which doth enrich the hand  
Of yonder knight?

SERVINGMAN  
I know not, sir.

[Exeunt Benvolio]

 

 

SCENE III  
an abandoned house  
[Enter Mercutio, supported by Benvolio]

MERCUTIO  
Help me into some house, Benvolio,  
Or I shall faint. A plague a both your houses!  
They have made worms' meat of me. I have it,  
And soundly too. Your houses!

BENVOLIO  
Hush you, friend Mercutio, lie still.  
The surgeon's blade shall swiftly make you whole.

MERCUTIO  
A hole I have in excess, vile Montague,  
And I wish not for any surgeon's metal  
For it is meddling brought me to this place.  
Call instead for butcher to insure  
I will not choke the blind worms with my flesh.  
I wish no harm on any living thing  
Unless it bears one of two hated names.

BENVOLIO  
My coz did act with motives for the best  
Will you forgive his well-intended gaffe?

MERCUTIO  
A gaffe! A gaffe! You'll kill me with a laugh!

BENVOLIO  
Again I plea, Mercutio, lie still.  
If it will still you, then I will agree:  
A plague is on my house and Capulet's.  
Do forgive Romeo, the surgeon who  
Attempting to derive a cure did slip  
And pass infection onto your own house.

MERCUTIO  
A surgeon who did try to cut a plague?  
I fear the sort of surgeon you will bring,  
You fool who brought me to rooms without light.  
Tell me, why is it so dark?

BENVOLIO  
Mercutio!  
Do please look past my choice of clumsy words  
And wake for I still need your clever tongue.

MERCUTIO  
I hold my clever tongue in strict reserve  
For ladies with far greater curves than thee.

BENVOLIO  
Yes, good Mercutio, do keep thy wits  
And answer me this question straight away:  
If by the meeting of your flesh and sword,  
Though unintentional and sadly grieved,  
A new peace did spread all throughout the land,  
Would thou give forgiveness in charity?

MERCUTIO  
The world is dark but I hold fires hot  
Enough to roast both Tybalt and your coz.  
A pawn, when sacrificed for wretched king,  
Doth not always feel so nobly used.  
You keep your talk of charity and peace.  
A cruel deed is crueler with high intent.  
A plague on both your houses, I am spent.  
[Dies]

BENVOLIO  
Mercutio, Mercutio, arise!  
O call me fool and curse my house, but rise!  
It is too late and he is gone at last  
I fear his curse already comes to pass.  
O Romeo, Romeo, brave Mercutio is dead!  
[Exeunt]

 

SCENE IV  
same abandoned house  
[Enter Benvolio]  
With blood-stained hands I kneel here at your side  
And know not if my soul is stained as well.  
Was this a part of the weird sister's plot  
Or just unhappy circumstance? Tell me!

O little sisters! Maidens three! Hear me!  
You favored me once in a grove of trees!  
Favor again, I beg thee, answer me!  
Or, if an answer does not please your lips,  
Then but undo the question I do ask  
And breathe life back into this inert form.

O pretty sisters! Fair trifecta! Stop!  
This is not the sort of thing I wished:  
That proud Mercutio lies on the ground,  
And my dear Romeo is banishd,  
And Tybalt-I confess, is gladly gone-  
But gladder were there other circumstance.

O honey sisters! Darling triad! Why?  
Why come you not to aid me in my grief  
By putting right what causes me to grieve?  
The empty shadows stay uninhabited,  
And cold Mercutio grows colder still.

O wicked sisters! Vicious hags! Come here!  
Yes, come and justify what you have done!  
If you hold to the letter of my wish  
Though not the spirit, for you've not the soul,  
Then I shall keep those letters in my mind  
And force your presence here before me now.

I asked that my rough hands shall not spill blood.  
You promised I shall come to no small harm.  
With welcome blade pressed to my waiting neck  
I call for thee to come and stay my hand  
Else I make you a mockery of all  
And henceforth you be called as liars three.

[Witches appear]

WITCH 1  
You caterwaul to wake the dead!  
Though it would not be rightly said,  
For despite your most trying cries  
Mercutio abstains to rise.

BENVOLIO  
If thou has come here only to make fun  
I'll turn my blade and show its edge to thee  
And in one stroke shall cause thy blood to flow  
To make a liar and a corpse as one.

WITCH 2  
This child dares to threaten us!  
Sister, what shall be the cost?

WITCH 3  
I can see no greater task  
Than what the child himself did ask.  
I will answer your questions plain  
And have you make your choice again.

BENVOLIO  
Mercutio, who lies on yonder floor,  
More silent and more still than were he stone,  
His life been taken in untimely ways.  
Was he a vital player in this plot  
Or was his death unhappy accident?

WITCH 1  
His death was fated from the time  
You slipped the potion into wine.

BENVOLIO  
Ah, me! And Tybalt's death as well, I fear.  
I killed them both without raising a blade  
And doomed poor Romeo to banishment.  
I beg you three to please forget my wish  
And turn things back the way they used to be.

WITCH 2  
We hold no power o'er the past  
What has been done shall always last.

BENVOLIO  
Then I entreat thee stop thy meddling ways.  
If hands of clocks can not be made reversed,  
Then hold them still so they may not advance  
And toll the time of yet another death.

WITCH 3  
If we do not go as you sought,  
Then this man's death will be for naught.

BENVOLIO  
You lead me to seek peace, this much is true,  
But now I know it is the peace of graves.  
What sort of peace is this when none remain  
To eat the toothsome fruit that peace has wrought?

WITCH 1  
A multitude of death is not desired  
When certain lives are all that are required.

BENVOLIO  
Enough with riddles! Tell me plainly now  
The what and when of where the winds shall blow.

WITCH 3  
Of course, my lad, I will but plainly tell  
In simple words e'en you shall understand  
That if you were to pause in your life's quest  
And live as though thou never saw my face  
Nor heard mine words, nor followed my advice,  
Then in two generation's time or less  
The blood between your houses shall run hot  
And boiling, be consumed 'til naught remains  
But ledgers in a history book to mark  
The passing of two families, once proud.  
And if you were to follow my advice,  
Six deaths shall spread quite evenly twixt house  
Of Montague and Capulet and Prince  
And concentrated tragedy divine  
Shall put an end to ancient grudge unclean.

BENVOLIO  
What would you have me do?

WITCH 3  
In two days' time, get thee to Mantua.  
Along the way to see a friar who  
Shall have a letter which he will hold dear.  
Contrive to part him from this message, or  
Through other means ensure it does not pass.  
Your future hinges on your fast success.

BENVOLIO  
Leave me, witches. I shall go  
Though I fear it costs my soul.

[Witches vanish]

BENVOLIO  
To stay, to go, the question has been set  
And answered when a boy of two days' past  
With naive heart and clouded eyes did let  
The die of destiny be casually cast.  
With clumsy steps he stumbled on the stage,  
A dull bit player without wit or rhymes  
Who held not to the story on the page  
But stuttered out his own self-serving lines.  
With good intent and noble thought did he  
Attempt change the text that did offend  
Which only lead to greater tragedy  
That we must all now carry to its end.  
O grave misfortune which I did release,  
Please do forgive, I did but keep the peace.  
[Exeunt]

 

 

 


End file.
